Comments on: Munch Mammut Replicas by Mike Kron

By: Ken

Ken — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 15:22:48 +0000

Nearly bought a new one too many years ago. Got a Laverda triple instead. What a heap of crap it was.
In period tests, later Mammoths handled not bad at all. And they WENT. I seem to recall a test where one barely lost a drag with a Z1. It turned out the Munch was running on three cylinders. Probably BS but a good one would pass a Z1. Friends, in 1973, that was bloody fast.
I wish I’d kept the face of the factory sales brochure that they sent to me. A fellow in black helmet and leathers on a TTS at speed with a very fine, stark naked blond lady strapped to his back. I was to return various body measurements to the factory so that my bike could be fitted to me. In the end, it got too expensive, although in the end end, the Laverda cost me more.

By: Chris

Chris — Fri, 03 Aug 2007 16:31:51 +0000

I’m not sure why — maybe it’s the nearly square frame geometry — but that bike looks very short, almost disproportionately so, in the wheelbase, like someone cut out six inches or so of its middle.

I don’t know the first thing about the handling of these beasts, but more power to him if he wants to replicate something so rare. It’s probably not something I’d choose to ride on a daily basis, but it’s unassailably cool that he decided to do the project.

By: aaron

aaron — Fri, 03 Aug 2007 15:47:41 +0000

hey, hoyt…. think of it as a boss hoss type bike – only way more exclusive and useful as a motorcycle. someone will always be attracted to something with twice the # of cylinders and power.

to me, the munch has the greatest claim for power or speed ever – something I’ve never heard said about 600hp busa turbos or motogp bikes or the like – it was too powerful for the wheels to hold together – that crazy rear wheel was the best they could do at the time, and I remember reading at one point that even that wheel restricted the bike’s state of tune.

(oh, wait – one other bike had that happen that I know of – the ducati apollo had similar problems, but they never fitted a monster wheel like that to it.)

my thought is that I’ll still want a MTT turbine bike in 30 years, and I might have to settle for a reproduction to get one – and I won’t really care how it handles!

By: Jim

Jim — Fri, 03 Aug 2007 11:40:01 +0000

Met a fellow a Sturgis in the mid 90’s who owned a MM and had ridden it to the rally from western Wisconsin. A facinating machine.

By: Bryce

Bryce — Fri, 03 Aug 2007 03:42:43 +0000

Even though it may not handle well, it’s definitely a looker in that most Teutonic of ways. Anytime someone replicates something like this faithfully and accurately, I’m impressed. Mostly because I am far too tempted to “improve” things.